RAYNHAM — Raynham Park owner George Carney said he has not yet developed a new plan for his former dog track and current simulcast betting center, but that his business will stay alive.

After the Massachusetts Gaming Commission announced its decision to give the state’s sole slots parlor license to an applicant in Plainville, Carney pledged to keep Raynham Park open and said the slots decision “doesn’t mean a thing” for the facility’s survival.

“Raynham Park has been around long before the vote was taken and will probably go on long after,” said Carney, speaking about his Route 138 facility.

The Raynham Park business lost its long-held right to host greyhound racing in 2010 after a statewide vote to ban the practice a few years earlier, leading to hundreds of layoffs. Carney purchased the facility in 1966, after beginning working there as a youngster in 1942.

The slots license was seen by Carney and others in Raynham as a way to rejuvenate Raynham Park and recover the lost jobs that went with dog racing.

Carney said he hasn’t yet developed a new business plan, but will “positively” continue operating a simulcast wagering parlor, where patrons can watch and bet on races broadcast from out-of-state tracks.

He also said he will continue to be involved in running the track.

“I’m a lucky fellow, and I have nowhere else to go,” he said. “So I might as well stay there.”

Joseph Pacheco, chairman of the Raynham Board of Selectmen, said that the slots decision was “disappointing,” and that Raynham Park had a good application.

“I thought the fact that Raynham Park could be open faster than anyone else and that the investment was bigger than anyone else’s should have put them in play for it,” Pacheco said.

Pacheco said that Raynham now has to figure out a new way to generate more jobs and contribute to the local economy.

“(The slots parlor) was going to bring a ton of jobs,” Pacheco said. “Now, we have that void that we have to find a way to fill.”

Pacheco, who recently announced his plans to run for state Representative, said that Raynham Park needed more support, specifically at the StateHouse level.

“We missed a golden opportunity,” Pacheco said. “All of us in public office really have to put our heads together and find away to attract other business to this area because the bottom line is we have people who need to work and want jobs. This was awfully disappointing.”

Fellow Raynham Selectman Richard Schiavo said that he was surprised that Raynham Park didn’t seem to impress the members of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.

Page 2 of 2 - “I think we had some real advantages in Raynham,” Schiavo said. “I’m not clear on why those advantages weren’t taking more seriously in the final decision. … I thought we had location by a mile. I really thought that Raynham shined in location. And I thought we outshined everybody in public support a strong measure of potential success.”

Schiavo said despite not being awarded the slots license, Raynham will continue to work to improve itself in other ways.

“I do know from my point of view we are going to continue to deal with issues to improve the quality of life for Raynham citizens,” Schiavo said. “We’ll continue to move forward to attract new business. We have a very organized program in that regard for Route 138. And that’s where my focus will be.”